Trisha Autry
Real Name: Trisha Ann Autry Nicknames: Trish Location: Hyrum, Utah Date: June 24, 2000 Bio Occupation: Student Date of Birth: December 12, 1984 Height: 5'4" Weight: 170 pounds Marital Status: N/A Characteristics: Caucasian female. Bright red hair. Case Details: In the early morning hours of June 24, 2000, fifteen-year-old Trisha Autry vanished from her home in Hyrum, Utah. Her mother, Joann, discovered that she was missing. She and her other daughters searched the neighborhood, to no avail. Sadly, Trisha's adolescence had not been easy. She was often ostracized and made fun of by the other kids at school. She also didn't have any close friends to talk with. As a result, police suspected that she may have run away. However, she had left all of her belongings behind. Her family suspected that she may have planned to meet someone from the Internet. Prior to her disappearance, Trisha wrote several fantasy stories. She started writing one two weeks before she disappeared. According to her family, on some occasions, she would stay up all night writing. She had stayed up late the night she vanished, working on the computer in the family room. Her sister, Breanne. last saw her typing at 2:30am, and at 6am the next morning she was gone. When Joann looked at the computer, she found that Trisha's story was not there. She was apparently doing something else throughout the night. Police focused on her computer and discovered that she had three separate e-mail accounts. She also spent large amounts of time in chat rooms. There was also evidence that she had deleted large amounts of e-mails and other files at 3am on the morning she vanished. A computer expert believes that someone taught her how to delete these files. On several occasions, neighbors noticed suspicious activity near the Autry home. Two weeks before Trisha vanished, a neighbor had seen her get out of a red car. The neighbor felt that the way she left the car and walked back home was suspicious, as if she did not want to be seen. According to another neighbor, the car appeared again at 4am on the morning of her disappearance. The driver, a young man, got out and walked around. He appeared to be nervous. A few minutes later, a girl matching Trisha's description met him and got into the car. On the day Trisha vanished, just two hours after she was seen getting into the car, she was seen by a clerk at the Welcome Mart a few miles from her home. The clerk said she had been looking out the window as if she was waiting for someone. The clerk asked if she was all right; she replied that she was fine. She left twenty minutes later without buying anything. The clerk knew Trisha from the neighborhood and was certain that the girl was her. There were several sightings of Trisha throughout Utah in the months following her disappearance, giving hope for her family and police that she is still alive. One man believed that he saw her at a grocery store. He saw her enter with an older woman standing closely behind her. The woman appeared to be controlling her. A man was also with them; he matched the description of the one that picked up Trisha in front of her home. The witness believed that she was being abused and drugged. Trisha's family and the police are hoping that she is still alive and will be found. Suspects: '''None known; police suspect that the driver of the red car is responsible for Trisha's disappearance. He, who was younger and white, has never been identified. He may be accompanied by an older white female. '''Extra Notes: This case first aired on the July 12, 2001 episode. It was also documented on On the Case with Paula Zahn. Tricia's family founded the Trisha Ann Autry Foundation to support families also affected by online predators. Results: Solved. Six months after Trisha's disappearance, police began to investigate twenty-eight-year-old Cody Lynn Nielsen. He was a maintenance man at the Predator Research Facility near Millville, Utah, eight miles from Hyrum. Shortly after Trisha's disappearance, he was seen using a backhoe on facility property to dig deep trenches and then refill them for no apparent reason. Cadaver dogs were brought to the area where they had been made. Several dogs "hit" on one specific area in them. After digging for ten feet, authorities found a jawbone. In other trenches, more remains were found, along with clothing. Some of it had been burned. In May 2001, the remains and clothing were identified as Trisha's. Soon after Trisha's remains were discovered, one of her friends came forward, claiming to having been raped by Nielsen one month before Trisha vanished. She claimed that he offered her a ride home from school, but instead took her to the Predator Research Facility and raped her. She also told police that he had given Trisha his pager number. In June 2001, Nielsen was charged with kidnapping and first degree murder. He was also charged with the friend's rape. He admitted to killing Trisha, but claimed that her death was an accident. He initially pleaded guilty, but later withdrew his plea. At trial, four women testified that he had raped them. Other witnesses testified that he had stalked Trisha prior to her disappearance. In January 2004, he was convicted of her murder and given a life sentence without parole. His conviction was upheld in 2013. Sadly, Trisha's parents have both since passed away; her father in 2001 and her mother in 2010. Links: * Trisha Autry on Unsolved Archive * Trisha Autry Obituary * Alleged rapist a suspect in Trisha Autry homicide too * Trisha's family tells jurors: 'Evil has a face' * Man says girl's death was an accident * Utah killer of 15-year-old girl wants new trial * State Supreme Court affirms Cody Lynn Nielsen's murder conviction * State vs. Nielsen * Investigation Discovery TV features Hyrum homicide in 'On the Case with Paula Zahn' * Trisha Autry on Find a Grave ---- Category:Utah Category:2000 Category:Solved Category:Disappearances Category:Abduction Category:Internet-Related Cases